The present invention relates to a universal parallel ruler adapted to display scale displacement, eliminating a need to read scale graduations.
When a line is drawn and is spaced from a standard line in a drawing operation utilizing the universal parallel ruler of the prior art, it has usually been necessary to perform a plotting operation by determining the dimension from the drawn line to the standard line utilizing scale graduations and then by drawing the desired line while displacing the scale to the plotted position. Thus, the operation of reading and plotting the dimension from the standard line to the drawn line using the scale graduations required considerable skill and concentrated attention.
Accordingly, these problems associated with the universal parallel ruler of the prior art have been overcome by virtue of the present invention described hereinbelow.
In general, a track type universal parallel ruler has an X axis rail and a Y axis rail being arranged in perpendicular relationship with each other, any one of these rails being stationary and the other being displaceably guided while being maintained in perpendicular relationship with the stationary rail, and a head including scales together displaceably mounted along said displaceable rail. Assume that the scales are X- and Y-scales parallel to the X- and Y-rails, respectively, and that the X-rail is stationary. A displacement of the Y-rail relative to the X-rail directly corresponds to a displacement of the Y-scale and a displacement of the head relative to the Y-rail directly corresponds to a displacement of the Y-scale. Thus, according to the present invention the respective displacements of the X- and Y-scales can be immediately obtained without reading the scale graduations by reading the respective displacements of the Y-rail and the head with associated readers and digitally displaying them on a display mounted, for example, on the head. Furthermore, the position of the standard or reference line for each scale can be freely changed by resettably arranging the display. It is also possible to make a drawing in the reduced or multiplied unit dimension only by displacing the scales in accordance with the information displayed on the display when the display is adapted to provide display information multiplied by a given multiplier.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a universal parallel ruler wherein it is no longer necessary to pre-plot the dimension of a drawn line relative to the standard line utilizing the scale graduations as was necessary in prior art universal parallel rulers.
Another object of the invention relates to the provision of a digital read-out of the displacement of the x and y scales wherein the displacements of the head relative to the movable rail and the displacement of the x-scale and the y-scale relative to the head have been taken into consideration.
Another object of the present invention relates to a resetting means wherein it is possible to change the position of the standard or reference x and y axes at the will of the user.
Still another object of the present invention involves the ability to utilize and compensate for a reduced or multiplied scale, to digitally read-out an x and y coordinate dimension in the reduced or multiplied scale setting on a digital display.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.